


the warriors that built this town

by Emma_Cresswell



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: AU, Alternate Dimensions, Alternate Reality, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-27 03:44:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10801002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emma_Cresswell/pseuds/Emma_Cresswell
Summary: **SPOILERS FOR WINTER**The moment Levana plunged the knife into Cinder's heart, something changed. Instead of dying or not dying, Cinder was sent to an alternate dimension, a different reality. A reality where Cinder died at the hands of her aunt five years previous and Levana once again rules the throne of Luna. Now, Cinder must help the alternate versions of her friends defeat Levana. She did it once before, after all. Why can't she do it again? Of course, now Levana's influence has grown and this alternate dimension may not be ready for the return of Selene Blackburn...





	1. don't turn away now

**Author's Note:**

> It's funny, Marissa Meyer has become one of my heroes and was the woman that inspired me to start writing fanfiction. But I've never done a Lunar Chronicles fics up until now. Needless to say, it is my first TLC fic, but constructive criticism is welcome. If you want me to continue, please say so. I will only keep writing it if people want it.  
> Title/chapter titles from Imagine Dragon's "Warriors."  
> Disclaimer: I don't own The Lunar Chronicles or any of the characters within it.

It was all blur. Cinder couldn't quite keep the pieces together. Levana had stabbed her, Cinder retaliated with the gun in her hand. The next thing she knew, Kai was standing over her and calling her name as her eyes closed. And then…

And then, and then, and then…

She woke up.

At first, she was unsure if what she had just experienced was reality or merely a dream. Her chest still held a dull throb of pain, she was still wearing the same set of tattered clothes. But when she opened her eyes, she wasn't met with the sight Artemisia’s palace ceiling. No, instead she was looking at the open sky.

“Ow,” she mumbled to herself as she slowly sat up. Her chest still hurt, but it wasn't anywhere near the pain she had experienced a few short moments ago. She subconsciously rubbed the spot of her knife wound as she surveyed her surroundings.

She was still on Luna. That much she could gather. She could see the subtle glint of the biodomes above and the buildings around her were constructed of Regolith. She was laying in some sort of secluded alley, but beyond that she didn't know where she was. Even worse, she didn't know where the others were. Kai, Cress, Thorne, Scarlet, and Wolf had been in the palace with her. But now they were nowhere to be found.

Cinder was alone.

Or so she thought.

“What are you doing in my alley?”

Frightened, Cinder jumped to her feet and whirled around to see a stranger casually leaning against the furthermost wall of the small alleyway. He was dressed in dark clothing, and a good majority of his face was covered by a black bandana.

Cinder decided she didn't like him.

“Excuse me, what do you mean you're alley” Cinder retorted, placing her hands on her hips. “What entitles you to this alleyway?”

“Aces, you're feisty,” the stranger responded, folding his arms. “Few people dare to stay out past curfew. And even fewer dare to cross Resistance territory.”

Cinder cocked her head. “You're part of the resistance?”

He laughed. “Clearly.”

Cinder didn't know what was so clear about it, so she decided to move forward in the conversation. “Well, that's convenient for the both of us because I am the leader of the Resistance.”

The stranger laughed again. “You? Scarlet Benoit? Yep, I believe it.”

Her eyebrows scrunched together. “Scarlet?”

“Yeah, Scarlet. Who else?”

“What about Selene Blackburn?” Cinder asked, not knowing exactly what was going on.

The stranger stiffened at Cinder’s birth name. He turned his head away. “Aces, something must be wrong with you. Selene Blackburn died five years ago, along with any hope that we would make it off this star-forsaken place.”

Dead? No, that wasn’t true. Cinder was still living and breathing. At least, she hoped so. “But,” Cinder continued. “Selene Blackburn can’t be dead.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I’m her.”

The stranger stood up straight. And, even though he stood in the shadows, Cinder could see his blue eyes spark with hope. His gaze drifted to her left hand. Her robotic hand. “Cinder?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Aces and Spades and all the Stars above,” he whispered. “It can’t be true. You can’t be her.”

A bit terrified and unsure of what to do, Cinder stood a little straighter, hoping she looked at least a little intimidating. “I’m Selene Blackburn. Heir to the throne of Luna.”

The stranger took a step toward her. Another step. And another, until he was only a few inches away from her. And then he did the unexpected. He pulled her into a warm embrace. Cinder stiffened under his grip and was just about to push him off before the stranger spoke again.

“Aces, Cinder. Don’t ever die again, okay?”

He pulled away and tore off the kerchief that was tied around his mouth. It was then that Cinder recognized him. His dusty blond hair was a little shorter than it had been, and he had a sizeable stubble of growth upon his chin. He looked paler, thinner, dirtier. But there was no doubt that she recognized those familiar blue eyes. “Thorne?”

Thorne swatted at his eyes, as if fending off a wave of tears before grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the alley. “Come on, we need to get you to base. Being out past curfew is never a good idea, especially when you’re the long-lost, long-dead princess.”

“I don't understand,” Cinder said, matching Thorne’s long strides with ease.

“I don't either,” Thorne admitted. “You shouldn’t be alive. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that you’re alive, but...Aces, this just doesn’t make any sense...I need to get you back to HQ. Scarlet needs to see this.”

Cinder’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Thorne, what’s going on.”

Thorne ducked into another alleyway, dragging Cinder along with him. Once they were out of Artemisia’s streets, he grasped her by the shoulders and looked into her brown eyes. His blue gaze was penetrating and fierce...and very unlike Thorne.

“Cinder, I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know this. Levana killed Selene Blackburn five years ago on the day of the royal wedding. Ever since then, the Resistance has been forced into hiding and Scarlet took over as the Resistance's leader.”

Cinder’s thoughts were moving at a million miles per hour as she tried to process what Thorne was telling her. “Levana killed me?”

Thorne’s lips twisted into a bitter grimace. “Stabbed through the heart with a knife. Linh Cinder is nothing but ghost.”

* * *

 

Thorne didn’t talk much after that. He did tell her that the Resistance used the lava chambers underneath Luna as a home base, and he mentioned that that was where he was taking her to said base, but he didn’t say much besides that. And any attempts Cinder made to ask a question was simply waved off with a promise of an explanation later.

But that didn’t stop Cinder from thinking as Thorne lead her down the dim and dusty underground tunnels. According to Thorne, she had been dead for years. Levana had been successful in killing her and was once again on the throne of Luna. It was a sickening thought, but apparently, it was reality.

The thought had crossed Cinder’s mind that this was just the effect of Lunar Glamour. That maybe it was just all an illusion. Thorne was really a Thaumaturge, and the lunar tunnels were simply a trick of the mind.

But it couldn’t have been fake--it was all too elaborate to be a fantasy. Not to mention that Thorne, despite looking and acting very differently from when she last saw him, was still Thorne. She knew enough about her best friend to recognize him from a Glamoured version.

But then, if this was all real, what had happened to the rest of Luna? What had happened to earth? What had happened to her friends? Thorne was apparently still a member of the resistance, and Scarlet was apparently the leader. But what about everyone else? Wolf, Cress, Jacin, Winter…

And Kai.

Cinder’s heart sank at the thought of Kai. Thorne had mentioned that she died the night of the royal wedding, which meant that Kai and Levana had still gotten married. But who knows how long Kai lasted after that. Levana probably killed him off the same night as Cinder. After all, she had earth, she had her crown. Selene Blackburn was dead and gone. There would be no purpose for Kai after that.

Kai was probably dead.

Cinder had to blink back tears as Throne lead her to a heavily guarded, metal-plated door.

“Who’s the girl, Thorne?” One of the guards, dressed in a similar garb as Thorne but holding a large gun, asked.

Thorne merely shook his head. “Not now, Razul. I need to talk to Benoit. Now.”

The guard--Razul--raised an eyebrow. “She asked us to clear any outsiders.”

“She also asked me to bring anything worthwhile straight to her. Don't make me disobey orders just so you can feel useful.”

Razul opened his mouth to respond but the other guard held up a hand to stop him. “Let him pass. It's Thorne, after all.”

Razul reluctantly opened the door, allowing Thorne and Cinder to enter. Cinder wasn't sure what to expect from this different Resistance headquarters, but she was a bit surprised when Thorne led her down a series of secluded hallways carved into the tunnel system. Cinder supposed she had been expecting something bigger with more people. But, then again, in the reality she knew, the Resistance had been merely a ragtag group of Lunars who didn’t even have a base as complex as this.

Thorne stopped in front of another metal plated door upon which he banged a fist against. “Scarlet!” He called. “I have something you need to see!”

“What is it Thorne?” A gruff voice answered, and the door slid open to reveal a tall figure with tousled brown hair.

Wolf’s jaw dropped when he saw Cinder, and Cinder reciprocated the expression. The last time she had seen Wolf, he had been broken by Levana. He had looked more like a Wolf than a man, falling victim to the genetic engineering and complicated surgeries at the hands of Levana’s doctors. But now, he looked like, well, Wolf. Sure, he, like Thorne, looked ragged and thinner than normal. But it was him.

“Cinder?” Wolf marveled, opening the door a bit wider to get a better look at his friend.

“Wolf,” Cinder simply said, still in shock.

“What is it?” a voice called from behind Wolf. A voice that unmistakably belonged to Scarlet Benoit.

“Scar, there’s something you need to see,” Wolf said, ushering Thorne and Cinder into the room.

The room seemed to be a command center for the base. A large, holographic map of Luna was projected onto the Regolith walls and a table overflowing with papers sat in the middle of that room. And hunched over that table was none other than Scarlet Benoit herself.

Cinder halted at the sight of Scarlet. She, too, looked tired and more ragged than Cinder remembered. Her hair was a bit shorter, she had dark circles under her eyes, and she was noticeably more muscular.

But not only that, Scarlet was visibly very, very pregnant.

Cinder could only gawk at the bump beneath Scarlet’s black tank top as her red-haired friend gasped in shock at the sight of Cinder. “Cinder?” She wondered, sharing the same reaction Thorne and Wolf had had when they saw her.

“Scarlet...you’re pregnant?” was all Cinder could manage.

Scarlet ignored Cinder and turned to Thorne. “It’s not a trick, is it?”

Thorne shrugged. “I don’t think so. She can’t be fake.”

“Where did you find her?”

“Outside our south entrance. She was sitting in an alley when I first found her.”

“But, Cinder died years ago,” Wolf interjected, taking a protective step closer to Scarlet. “How is this possible?”

“Guys, I can hear you,” Cinder finally said, hating the fact that she was being talked over. “It might help if you talk to me.”

“Right,” Scarlet said, turning to Cinder. “Cinder, if it’s really you, you have a lot of explaining to do.”


	2. from dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, two people requested for a continuation in the story, and so here is the next installment. It's a bit scatterbrained and random right now, but I promise it will get straightened out within the next chapter or two. We'll see how it goes though.

Cinder explained her whole side of the story, everything from forming the Resistance on Luna to the moment Levana plunged the knife into her heart. Scarlet, Wolf, and Thorne all listened intently, sitting at the edge of their makeshift stools in order to hear Cinder’s every word.

When Cinder finished, Scarlet leaned back in disbelief. “But you didn’t die? Levana stabbed you, but you didn’t die?”

“I don’t think so,” Cinder said. “I’m here, after all. Unless this is some afterlife...”

Wolf shook his head. “No, you’re alive. This is reality.”

“Alright, now tell me your side of the story,” Cinder said, suddenly feeling fed up with the confusion that had plagued her for the past hour. “I want to know what happened.”

“Well….” Thorne started. “Your story almost matches ours completely. Just some minor tweaks and such along the way…”

“Except you didn’t survive,” Scarlet interjected. “Levana killed you, reclaimed the throne, and began killing off the Resistance. She instituted a curfew, doubled the number of thaumaturges, and placed the Lunars under heavy guard. No one’s allowed out of Luna unless they’re on official business to Earth.”

“But, I revealed Levana to Luna. Surely she wouldn’t want to rule after that?”

“That’s why the Lunars live under such strict rule,” Wolf explained. “Not to mention Levana wears her veil almost all the time now. She doesn’t dare take it off for anything.”

Cinder paused, taking this information in slowly. “But what about you guys? What happened to the resistance?”

“Wolf and I made it out of the palace,” Scarlet explained, and the corner of her mouth twitched upward into a small smile as she placed a protective hand over her belly. “We married a year ago, and, well, the rest is history.”

Despite everything, Cinder couldn’t help but smile. “Well, I’m glad at least one thing worked out...but what about everyone else?”

“Jacin was captured at the palace that day, but we managed to get him out a few years ago,” Wolf explained with a small grimace. “Granted he didn’t have his tongue when we found him.”

So Jacin was still alive, though he was rendered speechless. But at least he was alive. “What about Winter?”

“We don’t know,” Thorne said, shaking his head. “We don’t think she was killed, but our best guess is that Levana has her locked up somewhere away from public eye. The last battle did take a toll on her sanity…”

A heavy silence hung between the quartet as Cinder absorbed the information. Finally, Cinder offered a small sigh. “And Cress?”

At this, Thorne’s expression darkened and he stood abruptly and exited the room in a huff. Cinder blinked in surprise at the sudden show of hostility and turns to Wolf and Scarlet for an explanation.

“She was captured, too,” Scarlet whispered. “She’s being kept in a suspension tank along with the other shells. As far as we know, it’s been that way since you died. Thorne...well, Thorne hasn’t really been the same since.”

No wonder Thorne was so devastated at the mention of Cress. It broke Cinder’s heart to see him so despondent. She would surely feel that way if it were Kai in Cress’s place. Speaking of Kai…

“What about Kai,” Cinder said, bracing herself for the worst news possible.

Scarlet and Wolf exchanged nervous glances before Scarlet spoke up. “He’s still alive…”

Cinder’s heart fluttered at the idea of seeing Kai again. “Is he here?”

“No,” Scarlet said hesitantly. “He’s still in Artemisia. He’s still married to Levana.”

Cinder’s heart sank. “Is he...is he okay?”

Wolf shrugged. “Nobody sees much of him anymore. Not even our spies know much about him. The only time anyone sees him is during a broadcast and even then he doesn’t say anything. He just stands there by Levana. We made one attempt to rescue him, but the men we sent never came back.”

If Cinder could cry, she surely would have at this point. Kai was married to Levana--no, Kai was a prisoner to Levana. Cinder could only imagine what kind of torture Levana would put him through. Cinder took one shaky breath and straightened her posture, determined to stay strong. “And the Resistance?”

“Well, we’ve grown,” Wolf began. “Levana went on a Resistance purge after she killed you. We were almost nonexistent by the time she was done. But we’ve managed to recruit and build up. We even have some Lunar guards on the inside of the palace spying for us.”

Cinder looked around her. “Well, it’s definitely more organized than something I could ever do.”

“Well, people will definitely be happy to see Selene Blackburn again,” Scarlet said. “Stars above! How are we going to tell everyone that you’re back?”

“More importantly, how are going to tell everyone how you came back?” Wolf mused. “We don’t even know how or why you’re here.”

“Well, that could prove to be a problem since I don’t even know how I got here.”

“We might want to keep you away from the public eye for now,” Scarlet said, giving Cinder a wary glance. “And it might be good for Jacin to check you out, make sure there’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Jacin?”

“He’s our chief medical expert,” Wolf explained.

“Oh,” Cinder replied. “Okay, sure.”

“Maybe he’ll have an explanation as to why you’re here,” Scarlet said, though her expression said otherwise.

* * *

 

“I have a few ideas,” Thorne said, a few minutes later when Cinder along with the Benoit-Kesleys were in the med bay while Jacin performed a checkup.

“A few ideas for what?” Cinder asked as Jacin waved some scanner over her arm. He, along with everyone else, had been shocked by her sudden appearance. But he didn’t miss a beat in going through a routine checkup for Cinder, making sure that however she got her didn’t produce any damage. Cinder had been a bit unnerved at first. She was used to a snappy, sarcastic Jacin. This Jacin was silent and cold. Cinder was sure some of that was due to whatever torture Levana had put him through, but a good majority of it was probably a result of Winter’s absence. Jacin wasn’t quite himself when he was missing his other half.

“I have a few ideas as to how Cinder got here,” Thorne said, hopping onto the examination table across from Cinder. “I mean, it’s nothing genius, but it’s something.”

“Then please, do enlighten us,” Scarlet scoffed, casually leaning against Wolf’s body.

“Well, you know those old net dramas where the hero suddenly jumps forward in time?”

“Thorne, I didn’t skip through time,” Cinder said as Jacin moved on to shining a light in her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I killed Levana, therefore, she wouldn’t be here.”

“But are you certain you killed her?”

“Well, no.”

“This isn’t a net drama,” Wolf interjected. “We need valid theories.”

“Hold your horses, I’m not finished,” Thorne said, regaining his old humor for a small moment. “What if Cinder came from another dimension?”

“Another dimension?” Cinder repeated.

“Yeah. I remember reading this weird book in grade school about this guy who went to an alternate universe where everything was different. What if Cinder came from a different universe? I mean, in her universe, Wolf got captured by Levana, right? But here, he’s perfectly fine.”

Scarlet and Wolf both seemed to be seriously contemplating this theory, but Cinder wasn’t quite convinced. “I just didn’t jump through dimensions, Thorne.”

“Then how did you get here?”

Cinder couldn’t answer that.

Jacin, who had been entering something into his portscreen, snapped his fingers to get everyone’s attention. He flipped his portscreen around in order to reveal the veiled face of Levana on a news feed.

“A new broadcast?” Scarlet inquired and Jacin nodded, projecting the video onto the wall.

Though Cinder was still distraught over her previous conversation with Thorne, she did straighten up at the sight of Levana. Her curiosity was piqued as to what this alternate Levana was like.

Of course, that was before Levana stepped down from the palace podium and Kai came into frame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there's chapter 2. Hope it's worth reading so far. Comments really make my day. So if you have something to say (from constructive criticism to suggestions to fangirling) please say it! Kudos are nice, too.


	3. the time will come

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I meant to update this sooner. But I kinda, sorta completely forgot about AP testing, so I've spent the past few days studying my butt off. But, thankfully, that's done and over with.   
> As a side note, this chapter is a bit shorter than I would've liked. But I want to keep the stuff in the next chapter in the next chapter, not this one (if that makes any sense). So, sorry for the brevity.

Cinder could feel all eyes in the room turn to her as Kai stepped up to the podium, watching to see how she would react. She felt a strange mixture of relief and dread seeing his face. Kai was alive and breathing, that was good. But out of all her friends, Kai seemed to have fared the worst. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, he was deathly thin, there were significant dark circles under his eyes. Even his chocolate brown eyes were overbrimming with pain. In that moment, Cinder wanted nothing more than to march off to the palace and take him back from Levana before she could hurt him anymore than she already had. 

“My adoring subjects,” Kai began with a slight tremor in his voice. “As you are aware, there has been some talk of a Resistance resurfacing. I’m here to put those rumors to rest.”

“Levana’s using him,” Cinder said, more to herself than anyone else. Scarlet gave Cinder a sympathetic look before reaching over and taking Cinder’s robotic hand in her own as a sign of comfort.

Kai continued, speaking Levana’s words. “As you know, Selene Blackburn died five years ago, and with her, the Resistance movement. Any notion that the Resistance has resurfaced is simply absurd.”

He took a shaky breath, holding to the podium like a lifeline. “Nevertheless, respective measures will be taken to ensure your safety. Guards have been employed to patrol the streets during curfew and random house checks will be instituted. If you witness any suspicious behavior, report it immediately. Anyone caught affiliating in any sort of radical group will be punished accordingly.”

For a moment, Cinder could swear she saw a glimpse of her Kai. His jaw clenched as he stepped down from the podium and his eyes held a spark of rebellion. But that moment ended as the broadcast ended and the screen faded to black.

The five of them sat in silence for a moment as they all absorbed the information presented. Thorne cleared his throat apprehensively, “Cinder...are you okay?”

Cinder took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her jaw as she contemplated her answer. Finally, she spoke, “Levana’s reign needs to end.”

Scarlet and Wolf exchanged glances before Scarlet spoke up. “There’s just one problem with that.”

“What?”

“Levana must know you’re alive,” Wolf explained. “She hasn’t brought up the Resistance since the purge, even though she has caught some of our men. But suddenly she thinks it’s an opportune time to bring them up? No, she suspects something.”

“But that doesn’t prove that she knows I’m alive,” Cinder countered.

“Cinder, that’s the first time I’ve heard Kai speak in years,” Scarlet explained. “He never speaks during broadcasts, the most he ever does is stand there and look royal. Levana doesn’t bring him out unless it’s a special occasion. And if she’s using him now to quench the Resistance’s flame then--”

“Then that means she suspects I’m alive,” Cinder finished, the logic clicking into place. “She’s playing a game with us. Poking at us to see if we’ll move. Using Kai to draw me out.”

Scarlet nodded and Cinder groaned, massaging her temples. “But I can’t just sit here and do nothing! Levana’s using Kai as a puppet and I’m just supposed to wait until things quiet down?”

“Cinder we’ve spent years trying to hide from Levana. We can’t blow that all off because of a rash teenager’s decision,” Thorne argued.

“What if it was Cress up there?” Cinder countered. “What if Levana was using her to taunt you, Thorne? Would you just sit and wait for the whole thing to blow over?”

Thorne clenched his jaw and looked away. Cinder felt a small twinge of regret after seeing his hurt expression, but she brushed it aside. “Look, I understand that we need to be careful. But we’re the Resistance. We’re supposed to make Luna better. And what have you guys been doing for five years? Sitting in a lava tube and hiding from Levana. If you’re ever going to get rid of Levana, you need to do more than just build up an army.”

Scarlet gave Cinder an icy look before turning to Thorne. “Thorne, do mind asking Myron to tap into the security cameras? We need to make sure that Cinder wasn’t picked up on one of the cams.”

“Yeah,” Thorne mumbled, brushing past Cinder without giving her so much as a glance. 

“Wolf and I are going to the command center. Do you mind bringing Cinder up once you’re done here?” Scarlet asked Jacin, still ignoring Cinder and her previous statement.

Jacin responded by waving the pair away. Wolf and Scarlet exited the room hand in hand, not even looking back at Cinder.

Cinder sighed. “Everyone here is so different. The ones in my reality wouldn’t have hesitated to help. I just...I don’t know how I’ll adjust to everything over here.”

Jacin gave Cinder an apologetic look with a slight shrug. 

“And I certainly don’t know how, or if, I’ll be able to get back to my reality,” Cinder continued, tightening her ponytail nervously. “This day has just been...weird.”

Jacin gave another slight shrug, but continued to type something into his portscreen. Cinder still wasn’t used to his doctor look. The white lab coat and short blond hair threw her off every time she looked at him. It was quite a different look from the guard’s uniform she was used to seeing him in. But beyond that, he truly looked incomplete without Winter. His eyes held the same distant look as Thorne’s. The only difference was that Jacin couldn’t voice his sorrow.

“I’m sorry about Winter,” Cinder told him, and he hesitated a fraction of a second before continuing with his work. He glanced up at her and gave her a look that seemed to say,  _ Well, there’s nothing I can do about it. _

“We’ll get her back. I promise,” Cinder said. 

If it were the Jacin she was used to, he would’ve come back with some sarcastic response in order to mask his pain. But this Jacin merely shrugged and motioned for her to follow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp! There's that chapter. As a small teaser, you can expect an appearance from our favorite blue-haired android in the next chapter ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments/kudos are always appreciated. Feel free to give me feedback/suggestions if you have any (or if you just want someone to fangirl with, I'm down for that too).

**Author's Note:**

> I have most of the story written, but I'll only finish if people want to see the story continue. Please comment if you want it to continue, or any feedback/criticism you might have for the story.
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed. Comments/kudos are much appreciated.


End file.
